These metrics should always be considered rough estimates, not steadfast rules.
The generally accepted SEO tool metrics that are considered “good” depend on the niche, but for local websites, the following numbers are often cited by SEOs as acceptable:
For websites that are in more competitive niches:
Trust Flow/Domain Rank/Domain Authority are not the new PageRank
None of these numbers come from Google and all that they measure are the quality of the backlinks going to a website.
Google does consider links as a ranking factor, but it’s not the only factor. A site that has a TF of 15 and a CF of 22 but that has 5 years of clicks from the search engine for relevant terms will outrank a website with a TF of 25 and CF of 40 that has been around for a year and a half.
Additionally, the computing power that these companies possess would be akin to an Uzi, while Google is using a Howitzer. None of them have the capacity to collect the amount of information that Google has about a website, and therefore, none will be able to give you a full picture of a website’s competitiveness.
These metrics are not great for deciding whether you can outrank a site or not
Over time, I’ve noticed that these numbers rarely correlate with ranking. As you can see in this graphic, there doesn’t seem to be a huge correlation between the numbers and each site’s placement on the SERP:
These numbers are better used to identify the impact of getting a link from a site than they are to predict a site’s rank—use them accordingly.
There is a lot of misinformation flying around the internet when it comes to SEO.
Ultimately, make a good website, with good content, become a member of online communities, and get to know the influencers in your market. Ideally, you won’t even need these metrics to tell the influence that a website wields.
